Ironically, on the day the USA celebrates its independence day, I want to pay tribute to one of Canada’s finest singer-songwriters, the enigmatic Bruce Cockburn!

I first heard Cockburn when, in the early 80s, a friend – who was then studying in Winnipeg (in Canada, la!) – sent me a mixtape of Cockburn and I was seriously blown away by the man’s genius. Also, Cockburn is a Christian but had a very different perspective from your standard gospel singer (check out “Dweller by a Dark Stream” and “Gospel of Bondage”) – a perspective I have grown to appreciate more and more in recent times.

In addition, Cockburn has remained politically aware throughout his career and has never compromised his artistic integrity (listen to “Nicaragua” and “Call It Democracy”) – for these qualities I admire him greatly and count him a definite musical influence.

The Who turned 50 years old last year and their pioneering pop-rock music remains relevant no matter the year.

Formed in 1964 by Pete Townshend (guitars, vocals), Roger Daltrey (vocals), John Entwistle (bass, vocals) and Keith Moon (drums), The Who started life as a mod band but quickly outgrew that tag and have been a seminal influence on hard rock, progressive rock, heavy metal, glam, punk and alt-rock genres during their most vital years, mainly 1964 – 1978. Drummer Moon died in 1978 and The Who never recovered from that loss. Entwistle passed away in 2002 and though Townshend and Daltrey still tour and even recorded one LP together (Endless Wire), the band is understandably a pale shadow of its former self.

This playlist covers those crucial 14 years when The Who were perhaps, one of the greatest rock bands in the world. With the high resolution streaming available at Deezer Elite, most of the tracks sound amazing, resonating with the primal energy upon which the band built its legendary reputation.

Here are six new releases – spread across the three streaming services (based in Singapore) – that get the Power of Pop Recommendation!

YOUNG BUFFALO – HOUSE

The album opens with a deceptive synth-pop motif before morphing into a Vampire Weekend cliche before the gorgeous melodic power pop channeling chorus kicks in! Inventive chord progressions, bouncy energy and stack o’ tunes marked this as a winner! https://www.facebook.com/youngbuffalo

Recently, I declared ‘war’ on the post-punk revival – aren’t you people sick and tired of it yet?!?!? Anyways, I decided to do something about it so here’s my Deezer playlist of my 50 favourite post-punk songs! Enjoy!!